the Seline River. There weren’t any ships of any kind there. I was
nearing exhaustion, so I spiraled down and roosted in an oak tree
near the beach. Maybe Garteon’s ships were slower than I’d estimated
instead of faster. That meant that I’d have to back-track and cover
the sea-lanes to the south instead of up this way. I was going to find
that fleet.
I roused myself just as dawn was tinging the eastern sky and flew
south, darting my eyes in every direction as I went.
It was an hour or so past noon when I finally found them. TheY
were no more than ten leagues north of Camaar, and would you
believe that they were at anchor? What was going on here? I veered
off, crossed the coastline and came to rest on a dead snag in the
marshes that lie to the north of Camaar.
This didn’t make any sense! If you’re planning an invasion, you
don’t stop to take a vacation along the way. Something very peculiar
was happening. One thing was absolutely certain, though. I had to
get this information to Ontrose. This turn of events had cured mY
fluttering, at least, so I launched myself into the air and flew north
over the marshes until I reached solid ground. Then I settled to
earth, resumed my own form, and used translocation instead Of
feathers. In effect, I hopped from hilltop to hilltop. It may sound
a bit like a jerky way to travel, but if the hilltops are three or
four leagues apart, it does enable you to cover a lot of ground in a
hurry.
It was almost sunset when I reached Seline, and then I went
looking for Ontrose.
I found that he was quartered in the house of the chief magistrate
of Seline, an old friend of mine, actually, and I had little trouble
getting in to see my beloved.
He rose to his feet and bowed as I entered. ‘Your Grace,’ he
greeted me formally. ‘Art thou still vexed with me?’
I winced, remembering the shriek I’d hurled after him when he’d
left my manor house. ‘No, dear Ontrose,’ I assured him. ‘I broke a
few dishes after you left, and that made me feel better.’
He gave me a baffled look.
‘It’s a womanly sort of thing, Ontrose. You wouldn’t understand.
Now then, I’ve come across a mystery, and I think I’m going to
need your help in finding a solution.’
‘If it is within my power,’ he said modestly.
‘I certainly hope it is, because it has me baffled. After you ran away
from me, I went on down to Vo Wacune to advise Andrion of our
progress, and then I came back north again. Baron Lathan was
ferrying his army across the River Camaar, and General Halbren had
just marched north out of Sulturn, so everything’s going according to
our plans.’
‘That is most comforting,’ he said.
‘Enjoy it while you can, Ontrose, because the next part has worms
crawling out of it.’
‘Oh?,
‘I flew on out over the Great Western Sea to find out just exactly
,where Carteon’s ships were located. It took me quite a while, but I
finally found them. They’re standing at anchor ten leagues to the
north of Camaar.’
‘What?’
‘Carteon’s fleet’s not moving, Ontrose. The mystery I mentioned
has to do with “why?” I can’t even begin to imagine what he’s up
to.’
‘Art thou certain?’
‘ Oh, yes, Ontrose, absolutely certain. I didn’t think it’d be a good
idea to fly down and ask them, so I came here instead. Is there any
reason at all for a seaborne army to just stop like that?’
‘None that I can fathom, your Grace.’
‘Polgara,’ I corrected him. ‘We got past the “your Grace” business
some days back, as I recall.’
‘I would not insult thee by incivil informality,’ he explained.
‘It’s the formality I find incivil at this point, love,’ I said bluntly.
‘We can discuss that later, though. Right now we have this problem
that’s just screaming for a solution.’
‘There is one possible answer, Polgara,’he mused.
‘Prithee enlighten me – or point me in the direction of the dishes,’
He laughed. ‘In truth, I see no other possible solution. Clearly, the
fleet stands at anchor awaiting something. Are they out of sight of
land?’
‘Yes.’
‘Then I would venture to say that it is no signal they do await.’
‘Probably not, no.’
‘Then must it be a specific date. Evidently, they made better
progress than they had anticipated, so now must they pause to allow
the calendar to catch up with them.’
‘That does stand to reason, Ontrose. They’re waiting, not just
loafing.’
‘It doth give birth to yet another mystery, however,’ he said,
frowning. ‘Setting a specific date for a military action is not
uncommon, but to do so clearly implies a necessity for coordination
one force to attack here while another doth simultaneous attack
there. This procedure doth lie at the core of nearly all military
campaigns.’
‘It makes sense, yes.’
‘But with whom is this coordination? Lathan hath assured us that
the entirety of Garteon’s army did take ship at the wharves of Vo
Astur. Such being the case, whom is there left in all Asturia to
coordinate with?’
‘Some outside force, perhaps?’ I suggested dubiously, ‘but neither
the Alorns nor the Tolnedrans would become involved in Arendish
squabbles. I took care of that centuries ago.’
My champion’s eyes suddenly widened. ‘Impossible!’ he burst
out.
‘But I did, love,’ I assured him. ‘Ran Borune I and I skinned the
Vorduvians, the Honeths, and the Horbites alive over a hundred
years ago to keep them from meddling in Arendish politics, and
my father has a firm grip on the alorns.’
‘I did not speak of that, dear Polgara,’ he assured me. ‘It hath just
burst in upon mine awareness that Baron Lathan is not unknown
in Arendia, for indeed all Arendia did witness our jousting match
at the Arendish Council when I did win the coveted office as thy
champion. Might it not have been that Carteon or one of his
henchmen did observe – and recognize – our dear friend in Vo Astur,
and then did make some show of the embarkation of the Asturian
force to deceive him and thus to contaminate his report?’
‘I hadn’t considered that, Ontrose,’ I conceded. ‘Once Lathan had
seen all those troops boarding those ships at the wharves of Vo
Astur, the ships could easily have sailed ten miles downriver and
then unloaded the soldiers on some empty riverbank where Lathan
wasn’t around to watch. What it boils down to, dear heart, is that
we know that Carteon has an army, but we can’t be positive exactly
where it is.’
,I must to horse!’ he exclaimed.
‘ontrose, dear, dear Ontrose, I do wish you’d stop saying that.
Where are you going now? Don’t tell me that you’re still afraid of
what I might do to you.’
‘I must needs confer with Lathan. If we have been duped, all is
lost.’
‘Not lost, exactly, but we would be badly out of position. Let your
horse sleep. I’ll take you to Lathan.’
‘But ‘ he started to protest.
‘Trust me, dear one,’ I told him, laying one finger gently against
his lips. Then, as long as they were so handy, I went ahead and
kissed those soft lips – just to be sure they still tasted as good as
before, you understand.
‘Lady Polgara?’ he said uneasily.
‘It’s not polite to interrupt me when I’m busy, love,’ I said firmly.
Then I kissed him again. ‘Well,’ I sighed a bit regretfully, ‘that’s
enough of that for the moment, I guess.’ A thought had just come
to me that might not have come to my champion. Ontrose, despite
his urbanity, was really an innocent when it came to politics. His
lifelong friendship with Lathan made him incapable of distrusting
the baron. I’d seen enough betrayals in my time, however, to always
have a few suspicions up my sleeve. ‘In just a few minutes we’re
going to go see Baron Lathan,’ I told him. ‘When you talk with him,
I’d rather that you didn’t mention any of our random speculations
about the location of Carteon’s army.’
‘I must confess that I do not follow thee, beloved.’
‘Let’s not clutter his mind with our speculations, Ontrose. Let him
arrive at his own. I don’t want to blot out his thinking with ours.
his answer might just come closer to the truth than ours does. Let’s
lot close the door on that possibility. just tell him that Carteon’s
fleet is anchored and then suggest the possibility of some significant
date. Let him take it from there, and let’s see where he ends up.
Lathan has a good mind, and we’d be fools to hobble it.’
‘Thou art wise beyond belief, my beloved,’ he said admiringly.
‘You are the nicest boy, Ontrose,’ I said, laying a fond hand on